Knowledge & News

​​Working at a bar doesn’t exactly align with church. That feeling gets even more compounded when your husband owns the bar and you work 50+ hours a week in the industry as a VP of sales & marketing managing the entire country for a winery and spirits supplier.

Growing up as a child I have fond memories of going to church. Getting dressed up on Sunday mornings, the smell of the old hymn books, the gospel choir, the standard “pass the plate” for ​an offering, and of course, the building fund {that no one really knew

what it was for} and lunch afterwards at The Piccadilly. We never missed a Sunday – in fact – we even planned our vacations around going to Church. Unfortunately for me – it was just that – Church. I never really had a sense of place there. I never really understood why the preacher went through the motions he did. I never really understood why people who were struggling had to give 10% of their income to the Church. I always felt that Church should be a choice and whether you are a good person shouldn’t be predicated on attendance. ​

"Unfortunately for me – it was just that – Church. I never really had a sense of place there."

After going away for school the pressure to attend Church when visiting at home was diminished. My parents who were married for 28 years decided to get divorced. It was that point in time that I realized Church didn’t have all the answers. People who we thought were lifelong family friends turned their backs on us because my parents broke the covenant of marriage. My mother went a little rogue and never went back to Church, while my father found a new congregation to attend. A couple of years into that, he donated a kidney to a friend of 30 years who also happened to be a fellow church goer. Unfortunately for my dad, the transplant didn’t go well and he ended up with severe nerve damage ending his career in the construction business. He fell on hard times – really hard times – not only financially but emotionally, mentally & physically. It was at that time that another Church turned their back on him. Promises that were made weren’t kept. Visits began to become obsolete. And the preacher had the audacity to tell my dad if he managed his money differently he wouldn’t be in this position. I’ll leave it up to you to determine how the story goes from here.

​Fast forward to 2014 when my husband and I met some amazing souls from Collective. They would constantly tell us about how Collective didn’t have that stuffy Church feel and how everyone was treated the same, no matter your sexual preference, financial status, education or skin color. In 2014 we finally “gave in” and decided to attend the Dia de Los Muertos service. Everything people had been telling us was true. It was the equivalent of an equal opportunity employer in the form of “Church” – AND THEY HAD COFFEE! Since that point, we have been involved with Collective in various capacities. We aren’t always able to attend service however we are always welcomed when we do. In July of this year, my husband fell off a ladder and shattered his leg which required multiple surgeries and hospitalizations. We had just purchased a new home closer to downtown that needed a ton of painting before we could move in. To my surprise, behind the scenes, Ben organized an entire crew from Collective to come and paint our house. People I didn’t even know showed up because they wanted to help. It was at that point I knew Collective was FAMILY and it didn’t matter if you were able to attend service every Sunday.

​​When the pledge drive started, I immediately knew it was time for me to contribute financially. There is so much good that comes out of Collective that in order to make that happen, financial support is necessary. I even opted earlier this year to be the first person to contribute to the newly formed Building Fund {tons of irony in that if you read the second paragraph of my story}.

If it weren’t for Ben and the entire congregation at Collective, I would still have the same feelings on “Church” that I was left with after my parents’ divorce and again after my dad’s kidney transplant. Thank you to the ENTIRE COLLECTIVE FAMILY for being just that – FAMILY. You’ve provided a warm and inviting space for people to come as they are and be themselves, and have given back immensely to our community. I am looking forward to raising my child up in “Church” aka COLLECTIVE.​ -Melisa, Dan, Brittany & Daniel

Come as you are. Sundays at 5pm

We value highly the metaphor of journey. We’re different people from different places and backgrounds, representing an intergenerational community, and we’ve traveled different paths. So, we agree not to make assumptions about the person across from us, next to us, or in conversation with us. We challenge ourselves to be sensitive, knowing this community includes a diverse group of people from life-long followers of Jesus, to people who are just now open to the idea that God might exist. We strive to avoid offense, ask good questions, articulate and explain our responses. We don’t assume fluency in bible, spirituality, or Church language, because we believe the message of Jesus is not for Christianity, but for humanity. So, we do everything in the spirit of love and grace.

Paid Professional Childcare Available during Sunday Services 1 - 5 years of age | Childcare 6 - 11 years of age | Collective Kids